What it does
This Act implements the transitional and consequential machinery required to move from the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (the OHS Act) to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the WHS Act). The Act’s long title states its purpose as dealing with transitional and consequential matters connected with the WHS Act, and its operative mechanics are largely set out in Schedules 1 to 4 (see short title, long title and Schedule structure). The Act repeals the OHS Act (Schedule 1, item 1), establishes the commencing day as 1 January 2012 (section 4 definition; section 2 table), and sets out how duties, notices, authorisations, exemptions, codes, records, inspector functions and related administrative arrangements carry over, end or change on and after that date (Schedule 2).
Mechanically the Act does several types of things: it preserves the OHS Act for breaches that occurred before 1 January 2012 and defines the residual operation of the OHS Act (Schedule 2, Part 1 and item 13); it creates limited transitional immunities for persons who started design, manufacture, importation, supply, installation, construction or commissioning processes before the commencing day, subject to hard cut‑off dates and carve‑outs where testing or analysis occurs (Schedule 2, Part 2, items 2-6); it preserves ongoing enforcement instruments (prohibition and improvement notices, undertakings) and records already in force under the OHS Act (Schedule 2, Part 3 and Part 6, items 7-8 and 11, 18-20); it carries over workplace health and safety structures such as work groups, health and safety representatives (HSRs), deputies and committees and allows in‑progress processes under the OHS Act to complete in limited time windows (Schedule 2, Part 4, item 9); it converts existing OHS investigators who are Comcare staff into WHS inspectors and authorises the use of WHS investigation powers to deal with matters within the residual operation of the OHS Act (Schedule 2, Part 5, items 13-17); and it preserves certain authorisations, exemptions and codes of practice where the regulations so prescribe (Schedule 2, Part 7, items 21-23).